Coalition Compulsion

UPA’s main trouble shooter and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has rightly said that the coalition politics is time consuming and complicated. Not only the UPA-II but the UPA-I also had to face the differences within the coalition government. Earlier, the NDA government had to deal with the coalition compulsion. It would be better for all the political parties whether they are the part of the alliance or not to think that coalition government is making adverse effect on the national interests. The coalition politics may fulfill the interests of regional parties supporting the coalition government, but fails to fulfill the national interests. Coalition government-led by the national party has to face hurdle in running the government. On several occasions, consensus is not arrived at the issues of national importance as such decision does not suit a particular political party. They put spoke in the wheel of important decision due to their vested interests. The present UPA government is unable to take any important decision. If it arrives at any conclusion, political parties express concerns over them. Presently the country is facing serious economic challenges thanks to the coalition compulsion. The top ministers have already cited this as the reason behind poor economic growth in the country. The problem persists as no initiative is being taken to deal with such compulsion.

It’s true that the interests of regional political parties should be fulfilled, but it does not mean that such work should be done on the cost of national interests. Presently, it’s in practice. Since the regional parties are getting strengthened day-by day and no national party is in a position to form government at the Centre on its own in near future, it has become inevitable to make separate laws for coalition politics. Pranab Mukherjee says that the voters are keen to elect single party government in the assembly polls but they change their decision while casting their franchise in the general elections. Why, it’s so? The common man along with national political parties should ponder over it. They will have to understand that the strengthening of regional parties means the national parties are unable to represent the sentiments of states and particular regions. It has revealed in the past that national party winning overwhelming majority had taken desired decision and imposed it upon the country. It would be better that national parties take lesson from the mistakes they committed in the past while regional parties should give priority to the national interests.